S Folinsky

Curious minds would like to know -- who told you that? You say the "consulate" in London said that. WHO at the consulate gave that little tidbit?

Dosedmonkey

This could be a lot worse. Be happy he is 18, and in a safe country. Apply for visa, don't try and enter any country illegally again. Don't call your son an idiot for being honest. I'd never ask mine to be any other way, especially with immigration.

In the meanwhile, your son will probably have time to enjoy being 18 in the UK. Nothing better then being able to legally drink in a pub! Haha.

crg

Perhaps there are some US authorities there (according to the link).

retzie

Nothing the OP has said indicates this attempt was illegal. Using the ESTA for a short stay on his way to Mexico for a replacement visa is not against the rules. Since the scenario even got jumbled in this thread, I can see how it would have set off alarm bells to whomever he encountered to deny him boarding.

Pulaski

Except he presumably didn't have an onward ticket to Mexico (nor a return ticket to the UK), which IS against the rules for ESTA/VWP. He also reportedly said he was returning "home" to (live with) his parents in the US, which is also against the rules.

Dosedmonkey

That is how I read it.

With my wife being a Peru citizen, we are pretty experienced with tourist visas, unlike a lot of British people who don't need to apply for a visa for holiday. And one golden rule is, use tourist visas for tourism if you want to be allowed in to the country again under any form of visa. And in fact a rejection or miss use of visa in one country can flag you in many countries border controls.

Visiting and living with, is two total things.

If I visit a friend I'm all good, if I go live with him/her, divorce with my spouse would soon follow. You get the drift the huge difference between those words.

crg

Per the INA, if the traveler's only home is inside the US, they are not within the category of visitor and therefore not eligible for VWP. A visitor must have a foreign residence they do not intend to abandon. This person's place of general abode was inside the US.

sir_eccles

A rather good point.

lansbury

They have been at Heathrow for over ten years.

Dosedmonkey

I hear they check your visa before you fly in Dublin as well. Not a bad idea when they are so tight on immigration. Saves lots of extraditions.

Pulaski

In Dublin you preclear US immigration (if you fly in the morning or early afternoon), which is an entirely different matter. You cross the Atlantic on a "US domestic flight", so on arrival in the US you get off the plane, collect your luggage, and leave the airport.

crg

The flights arrive at domestic terminals, but passengers can still be picked off upon arrival and inspected as an international arrival. Admission isn't finalized until the person is cleared to leave the arrival area and is free of official restraint.

Pulaski

What does "cleared to leave the arrival area" mean? Is there any sort of desk or gate, or arriving crowds just subject to roving agents meandering through their midst?

crg

It would be more like the plane pulls up to a domestic gate and a few border guards are there at the door of the plane to greet and detain the person they want. An example would be a green card holder with a criminal record and or arrest warrant. The person would still be an arriving alien and not considered to have been admitted to the US merely because of being allowed to board in Dublin or similar.